Serena Williams will defend her title in the Bank of the West Classic final today against rank outsider Coco VandewegheYou can watch and bet on Williams v Vandeweghe live for free at bet365 > live tennisSerena Williams is playing at a different level to the rest of the field at the Bank of the West Classic this week, and she continued her relentless charge towards a successful title defence on Saturday with a crushing 6-1, 6-2 semi-final thrashing of Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. The top seed needed just 60 minutes to complete the rout, but being the perfectionist that she is, wasn’t entirely happy about her performance.
“I think we were both disappointed tonight because we both have big serves, and tonight for whatever reason we weren't able to do it,” said Serena after the contest. “I wasn't too happy with how I was playing today. I did what I had to do to win today. I'm happy to win though, and it's really good to be back in the final. I want to do well here. I have points to defend, which is really motivating for me”
Williams will now face the unexpected threat of world No. 120 Coco Vandeweghe. Vandeweghe made it through to her first ever WTA final on Saturday by clinching a three set win over Yanina Wickmayer (6-2, 3-6, 6-2).
“I'm winning a lot of points on my first serve, which is key, but I've got to get my first serve percentage up,” said Vandeweghe, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser.
“I'm really excited right now to be in the finals - it's a dream come true for me,” continued the 20-year-old. “Hopefully it's a good omen for me for the rest of the summer. As an American you want to do well in the summer hardcourt series, and of course going into the US Open.”
This final pits two very different players against each other. Williams is already one of the legends of the Open Era, and seems to be as good as she ever was. Vandeweghe, meanwhile, is in her first WTA final, and was fortunate not to have missed out on the main draw. There only seems like one possible outcome for this tie, though Vandeweghe seems intent on upsetting the odds at every opportunity.
